Most popcorn balls are made using corn syrup and lots of sugar, but they can be made into a healthy treat when created with better ingredients. Air-popped popcorn is a great start — a one-cup serving of regular popcorn made with oil has around 64 calories and 4 grams of fat, while air-popped popcorn has 31 calories and only 0.3 grams of fat. In this recipe, we use honey instead of sugar or corn syrup and add curry powder and coconut for a flavor that’s sweet, spicy and savory all at once.
Serves 8
Total time: 15 minutes
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Ingredients
Cooking spray
8 cups air-popped popcorn
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Preparation
- Coat a large heatproof bowl with cooking spray and place popcorn in the bowl.
- Place honey, vinegar and salt in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until it begins to boil, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in oil, curry powder and vanilla.
- Immediately drizzle honey mixture over popcorn. Add coconut and mix with a rubber spatula until popcorn is thoroughly coated and cool enough to handle.
- Keeping a layer of plastic wrap between your hands and the popcorn, tightly press mixture into 2.5-inch rounds. Place on waxed paper and sift chili powder over the popcorn balls. Let cool completely.